SXSW Guide For Comic Book Fans

So, you missed the first day of South By Southwest because you were stuck working your crummy day job and now you can't get out to Austin to go see anything in person. What's a fanboy to do? Well, here's an overview of the cool stuff they have coming up this weekend that we thought might connect with the ComicBook.com audience. Check back throughout the weekend because as we cover events and announcements, we'll add links into the schedule here. Check out this story from Friday's premiere of Sony's Evil Dead remake! Oh, and an update on Evil Dead 4 from Sam Raimi. Frenemies: Fanning the Flames of Fandom Saturday at 11 a.m. Storytellers! Underestimate the power of fandom at your peril. If a storyteller has done his or her job right, they have created a rich story world complete with canons, tropes and multiple layers of mythology- a world that is ripe for hijacking and take over by the fans. From alternate universes to slash fiction and additive fan created canon the relationship between the storyteller and the fan enabled by technology has become more and more complex and can best be described as one of "frenemies"- "friend + enemy". What represents a victory to the fan may represent a loss of control to the storyteller. So how does a storyteller manage a fan community that may know more about the story world then they do? Who owns the IP? Is fandom like nuclear power that can be used for good or evil? We'll venture deep into the fan underworld with a panel that breathes the air and serves the Kool-Aid. Get Ready to Rumble!: How WWE is Crushing Social TV Saturday at 11 a.m. With more than 123 million fans/followers on Facebook and Twitter, WWE ranks among the sports world's digital leaders. Wrestlemania XXVIII alone generated 110 worldwide trends over the show's five-hour period and the hashtag #Wrestlemania was mentioned more than 610,000 times on the day of the event. Learn how WWE's integrated marketing and content strategy is driving bone crushing levels of engagement by connecting Superstars directly with their fans - delivering exclusive content, stunning face-offs and real-time experiences that dominate social television. John Cena will appear. Political Cartooning: From Dead Trees to Live Wire Saturday at 11:45 a.m. Political cartooning has been around since ancient Rome and is more popular with readers than ever before. Now that print media is being replaced with online distribution channels, however, they're being left behind—and content-based websites are missing the chance to exploit this powerful mix of words and pictures. Cartoonist, author, ex-newspaper syndicate executive and occasional comix war correspondent Ted Rall explains how cartoons—not just political cartoons—can bring more eyeballs to your website and can be directly monetized.

Much Ado About Nothing (screening) Saturday at 1 p.m. Shakespeare's classic comedy is given a contemporary spin in Joss Whedon's film, "Much Ado About Nothing". Shot in just 12 days (and using the original text), the story of sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick offers a dark, sexy and occasionally absurd view of the intricate game that is love. Much Ado About Much Ado Saturday at 3 p.m. Want to know what Whedon said about the upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot at the Q&A after the screening? Check it out here. Speaking of Marvel news, what did Jim Carrey have to say about those Guardians of the Galaxy casting rumors? Check it out. What's the next step after directing one of the biggest films of the year? Gather some of your favorite actor friends in your home to film a contemporary take on a Shakespeare classic! Directly following the SXSW US Premiere of Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing, join cast members Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, and the director himself as they discuss the unconventional process of shooting the film in 12(!) days and the challenges and excitement of bringing Shakespeare to the screen for a modern audience. Joss Whedon, Clark Gregg, Nathan Fillion and others will attend. Expect there to be Marvel news.

Chuck Lorre: In Conversation With Neil Gaiman Saturday at 3:30 An update on the status of bringing Sandman to TV and film... Top TV comedy hitmaker Chuck Lorre ("The Big Bang Theory," "Two and a Half Men," "Mike & Molly") makes his SXSW debut in a wide-ranging discussion with author Neil Gaiman ("Stardust," "Coraline," and the acclaimed comic book series "The Sandman") about the creative process, the challenges of keeping three of the most successful shows on television running, and the stories behind Lorre's original, opinionated and often controversial end-of-show "vanity cards" -- a curated selection of which were recently published in his new book, "What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Bitter." "What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Bitter" -- from which all of Lorre's proceeds will go to charity -- reveals a hilarious, thought-provoking and scandalous body of work unlike any other creative endeavor. Veering from philosophical treatises to personal revelations to the occasional furious diatribe, Lorre never shies away from controversy. Tomb Raider - Rebirth of an Icon Saturday at 4 p.m. SXSW GEEK Stage - Live demonstration with Global Brand Director Karl Stewart along with an appearance from Camilla Luddington, AKA "Lara Croft". ComiXology Saturday at 5 p.m. Join comiXology CEO and co-founder and CEO David Steinberger, his fellow co-founder John D. Roberts, and Shannon Wheeler, creator of the critically-hailed "Two Much Coffee Man" series, for an exploration of the digital revolution in comic books and graphic novels. Among the agenda items will be comiXology Submit, a platform unveiled this week that enables independent comics creators, from promising new talent to established veterans, to reach a global audience of comic book fans. ComiXology created the first viable digital marketplace for leading publishers, and cracked the code on enjoying comics and graphic novels on mobile devices, with Guided View™ technology that turns reading comics into an immersive, cinematic experience.

Sunday at 11 a.m. Enough of caped crusaders, crazed criminals and post-apocalyptic kooks! Despite talk of graphic novels as a maturing, alternative art form, most of the genre is still dedicated to elementary entertainment...but that is changing fast. The educational power of comics is still largely untapped, although some are now using it to tell tales of history, science, and culture. But how about using the medium to teach about today's headlines and real world action we see on the nightly news? We did. Our story: how we created an alter ego, The Plaid Avenger, for a real life college professor, then crowd-sourced and social-networked the financial/academic support (via Kickstarter, Facebook, Twitter, et al) to create a graphic novel on the current real-life Mexican drug cartel war. With an innovative twist: the digital version has integrated video lessons and updated news feeds to continue the learning in perpetuity! It's an entirely novel way to present the news…a graphic novel way, that is. Shadowrun Returns Sneak Peek Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Go behind the scenes with the developers of Shadowrun Returns, the Kickstarter crowdfunding phenomenon. Shadowrun Returns is a story-based tactical role-playing game for PC, Mac, and Android & iOS Tablets.

SXSW GEEK Stage - Marvel Entertainment- home to the Avengers, Spider-Man, Wolverine & more- returns to SXSW with the super powered panel no attendee can miss! Marvel unveils cutting edge plans to revolutionize the world of comics, bringing print and digital media together like never before for the ultimate experience! What does have planned in 2013? A new era for your favorite Marvel Super Heroes starts NOW! Zombies, Run! Transforming Fitness, Games & Story Sunday at 5 p.m. Everyone wants to be fitter. The trouble is making yourself exercise. Some systems use 'gamification' to turn exercise into points, and set targets and 'win' conditions. Zombies, Run! takes a different approach. We combine gameplay and storytelling to make an audio adventure with one way to escape from the zombies: run. The game is out on iPhone, Android and Windows Phone. It's one of the highest grossing and most successful smartphone fitness apps ever. We spent nothing on marketing or advertising, the IP is brand new, and we raised our funding Kickstarter. In this talk, we'll explain why we think it works so well, thanks to: the motivational power of immersive storytelling where you can't wait to hear the next instalment; our focus on hands-free gameplay; ensuring playability by all ability levels; the high quality story by an award-winning novelist; and excellent sound design and engineering. We think this might be the future of fitness gaming.